The Next Step
by neko-obsessed-youkai
Summary: Naraku is finally dead, and things are starting to settle in their destined place. But how long can it last until things start to fall apart? Inukag and MirSan
1. End to an Old War

Hey this is my first ever fanfic story thing, and I usually keep every thing to myself so any reviews would be extremely helpful. I'm going to try as hard as I can to write this story properly but I lost my notebook recently (long story). It was a really good one so that totally sucks. Scratch that I just totally found my notebook. It was in my closet, heh heh how did it end up there.

I just combined chapters 1 and 2 because it seemed pointless to have them seperate since they were so short. Well i hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of the others, im just using them.

**_The Next Step_**

**_ Chapter One:End to an Old War  
_**

Kagome could do nothing but stand and watch as InuYasha and Naraku attacked each other relentlessly. She could barely breath, she stood frozen in terror. What if something happened to InuYasha? How could she go on, if he didn't make it. She carefully watched every blow, praying that he would make it. Something moved and caught Naraku's attention, giving InuYasha an fleeting chance. InuYasha took it. Kagome skipped a breath as she watched InuYasha run toward Naraku. He raised back the tetsaugia, in a final attempt Naraku lashed out at InuYasha but it was to late. InuYasha brought the sword down and removed Naraku's head. Naraku lashed out with his final attack and his lifeless corpse fell to the ground. His body turned  
to dust and blew away into the sky.

InuYasha turned to Kagome and took a few staggering steps toward her then collapsed to the ground. Kagome's heart stopped and her eyes began to well up in her eyes. She ran to him as fast as she could. She fell to her knees at his side. She propped his head up on her knees and the tears began to fall from her eyes onto his face. She stroked his cheek and brushed the hair from his face. She laid her head on his, whispering "Please don't leave me, I need you."

"Sango! Miroku! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! HURRY! " She cried out. She continued to scream until she herd rustling in the woods behind her. She immediately stopped fearing that a demon had come to take advantage of the situation. InuYasha was out cold and she was in no condition to fight. She stared into the woods unable to move. Her fears were put to rest when Sango and Miroku emerged from the woods.

Sango fell to her knees at Kagome's side and looked at the unconscious InuYasha, who was lying in a pool of blood. She turned to Kagome, "What happened? Are you alright?" She looked at Kagome, who was just staring down at InuYasha as if she wasn't even there. "Don't worry Kagome, we won't let anything happed to him. I promise."

Miroku knelt down on the other side of InuYasha and checked his pulse the way Kagome had shown him. "He's alive but barely. He's lost a lot of blood. We need to get him to Kaede's as soon as possible. "

Kagome gently lifted InuYasha's head off her lap and placed it on the ground. She stood and gazed at his limp body. She felt alone and vulnerable. Her eyes had an emptiness to them as she stared. She watched as Miroku and Sango hoisted InuYasha up on Kirrara's back. Kagome could no longer stand it, so she took off running into the woods. All she could do was run and she kept running. She felt completely helpless. He told her to stay there, to stay hidden, so she wouldn't get hurt. She couldn't stop running if she had wanted to, its all she could do to keep from breaking down. She could see the scene over and over in her head. How could she just stand there and watch? Why did she have to listen to him? She could've helped him. Since when did she listen to him anyway.

**Flash back  
**"Kagome, please stay here."

Kagome looked at InuYasha. 'Did he just say that?' she thought, 'Did he just say please? Did he really just speak kindly to me, and not try to order me around? Even when I was sick he wasn't this nice.' She looked into his eyes, and saw something in them that she hadn't seen before. She saw fear and it looked as if he were trying to hold back tears. He looked so kind.

"Okay, InuYasha, I'll stay. I only wish I hadn't lost my bow and arrows. I wish that I could help you." Kagome said feeling terrible and was about to cry. Silently cursing her self for dropping them after that battle with Kagura.

"Don't worry Kagome, I can take care of myself. I just don't want you to get hurt. If something happened to you I would hate myself for all eternity. I just care about you to much."

"Inu..Yasha..." She said missing a breath.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He held her so tightly it was as if he would fall away if he let go. She hugged him back, tears forming on her eyes. He pulled back and lifted her face to his. "Kagome, I love you." He kissed her on the cheek. "Kagome, whatever happens," he put his mouth to her ear and whispered, "Please don't cry." He pulled away and ran into the clearing. Kagome watched as he approached Naraku.

"I'll try," Kagome whispered a solemn promise to her love.**  
End Flash Back**

She continued to run. It was pitch black and she could barely see the light from the fires in the village. She couldn't see anything, and the next thing she knew she was on the ground. She gasped to catch her breath. She threw herself face first on the ground and began to sob. Tears were steaming down her face. Things had never gotten this bad before and she was terrified. After about 10 or 20 minutes she began to calm down. She was still crying but she could at least breath.

"Kagome..."

She immediately stopped and looked around. Her eyes had adjusted but she couldn't see anyone.

"Please Kagome.." the voice whispered again.

The voice, it sounded so familiar. 'InuYasha' she thought. It had to be, but he was unconscious and at Keaede's. There was no one else it could be, she knew his voice anywhere.

"Please Kagome, don't cry"

"InuYasha, InuYasha," She called out but no one answered. She stood and wiped the drying tears from her cheek. She walked out of the woods and stared into the sky. She looked into the full moon and felt relaxed. He's alright, he must be alright. She headed to the village.

When she got there the place looked completely deserted. There were almost no fires and everyone was in their homes asleep. She guessed that it was about one or two in the mourning. She calmly walked toward Kaede's home. She hoped that InuYasha was okay.  
She pulled back the door and saw InuYasha lying near the fire. Kaede was beside him tending to his wounds. Miroku was leaning against a wall, holding a sleeping Sango in his arms. Shippou and Kirrara were curled up in a corner asleep. As she looked at them she saw cuts and bandages. They had been fighting Naraku's minions and had gotten hurt, amazed that she had escaped with so few injuries.

Kagome took a step forward and Kaede looked up at her. Then she looked back down at InuYasha and finished his dressings. When she finished, she started putting her things away. She stood and walked over to Kagome.

"Kagome," she said softly. "He'll be alright, but he'll be weak for quite sometime. You may want to go back home for a week or two."

Kagome paused before speaking. "I'm want to stay here. I'm just going to go home and and get some things and then I'll be back."

She walked out of the hut and to the Bone Eater's Well. She climbed up on the side and let herself fall in. When she hit the bottom, she crawled out and to no surprise was back home. She quietly walked up to her room. She put her dirty clothes in the hamper and put clean ones in her bag. She grabbed some soap, antibiotics, and bandages from the hall closet. She went to the kitchen and got some food out of the cabinet. She put a note on the table and left.

When she got back to Kaede's she found that everyone went to the other room and they left the fire on for her. She laid out her sleeping bag down by InuYasha. She pulled the cover over the two of them and carefully snuggled up to him. She fell into a deep comfortable sleep.

So that's it for chapter 1 it would be longer but its like 1:30 a.m. and I'm really tired. PLZ R&R thanks a lot.


	2. At Long Last

If you guys were waiting for this chapter I am so super sorry, Its just been a lot of stuff. If you are just now reading this story you are in luck. I think this chapter turned out really well and you guys are going to think that someone else wrote it. But that is so not the truth. Well please review so that I know what you guys think. Many Many thanks.

Disclaimer: The characters in this chapter are not mine

_**The Next Step**_

_**Chapter Two: At Long Last**_

InuYasha slept for nearly a week and a half, all the while Kagome stayed by his side. She stared at him for hours, brushing his hair from his face whenever a breeze blew. She cleaned and redressed his wounds everyday. Sango would bring her food, and had too practically drag Kagome to wash up in the nearby river.

Each day she became more distraught. Kaede had told her that he would be out for a week, but he had still not come to. Her heart broke a little more with every passing hour that she could not see his golden eyes looking into hers. But she refused to falter. She knew that he would not leave her now, after everything that they had been through and somehow survived. After he told her that he loved her.

"Why is it taking you so long InuYasha?" She whispered, tightening her grip on his hand. "I know that you are stronger than this."

She brushed a few strands of hair from his face. She became transfixed. His features were so strong but so beautiful at the same time. His brows were thin and arched at a gentle angle. His skin was tan and smooth, and his lips were slightly parted but completely relaxed. Thoughts began to buzz through her mind so quickly that she was unable to straighten them out. She stared at him lying there so peacefully and with his guard completely down. She closed her eyes and she seemed to have lost complete control of her body. She found herself hovering less than half an inch from his face. The decent continued until her lips met his, and she kissed him as passionately as she could.

A small orb of blue light formed in between the two of them and grew larger. In the next moment the blue light had engulfed both of them. InuYaha's eyes opened and he saw Kagome before him, surrounded by a heavenly blue light, and he returned the kiss. Kagome's head had begun to spin and she felt like she was going to pass out. She gently pulled away and broke the kiss. She kept her eyes closed as her mind began to settle for fear of fainting.

"Ka..gome," InuYasha mumbled as he tightened his grip on her hand.

She snapped her eyes open and stared in to his face and saw his golden eyes staring back up at her. "InuYasha?" she said not sure if this was real or if she had actually passed out and was dreaming. " Oh gods, InuYasha, are you okay? I thought you…..your wounds do they hurt?"

"What wounds, Kagome? I don't feel any."

"They're right," Kagome touched the bandage on his chest and couldn't feel the blood that had refused to stop flowing. "…here. They, they've healed."

InuYasha sat up and looked at the stained bandages that were wrapped around his stomach and chest. He touched them with a little pressure behind his finger tips. Kagome was right, they had healed completely without even the smallest trace of a bruise or a scar.

"Kagome," He lifted his face to meet her auburn eyes. "it was you. I was surrounded by darkness and I heard your voice like blue waves, and I followed them. When I opened my eyes, I was here, with you." Her eyes began to well up and a tear escaped, slowly traveling down the side of her face. InuYasha put his hand to the side of her face and slid his fingers into her hair, with his thumb he brushed the droplet away. He swiftly moved to where his lips would be mere centimeters from her ear.

"Kagome," he whispered, sending chills down her spine. "I've been waiting to do this for ages." He turned her head to face his, and touched her lips with his own, starting a slow and agonizing kiss. His hand slid to the back of her neck, while the other slipped around her waist pulling her closer. Kagome grabbed his side with the tightest grip that she could manage, with her with her mind swimming.

InuYasha pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. Panting, InuYasha was the first to speak. "I missed you Kagome. I can hardly bare it when you are not with me. I came back Kagome. I came back for you, and I want you to be mine, always."

'What could I possibly say that would not sound stupid?' Kagome sat up and looked into his eyes. For once she was completely speechless and had nothing to respond with. Every thought that came to mind sounded ridiculous. How could she respond to such a loaded statement? She had wanted to be with him for as long as she could remember, but he was always chasing after Kikyo. She had never thought that he would say these things to her, but he did. Now, he wanted her and only her for the rest of his life.

"Kagome," InuYasha said snapping Kagome out of her thoughts, his face had turned a little red. "I've been thinking about this for a while now, and it won't hurt anything if you want to think about it too." He stood and walked to the door.

'He's changed a lot.' Kagome thought watching him walk to the door. 'The old InuYasha would have yelled at her for taking so long to answer.'

"InuYasha wait," he stopped and turned to face her. "Yes, I mean, I want to be with you too."

InuYasha stood in the doorway for a moment. Then he walked toward her as fast as he could without breaking into a run and grabbed her. Kagome let out a yelp of surprise, and InuYasha planted kisses on her mouth and neck before he looked into her eyes. Kagome looked into his face and saw a genuine smile that she had never seen before.

"Kagome are you okay?" The two of them jumped and turned to see Sango and the others standing in the doorway.

"Yes, why?

"We heard you scream so ..." Miroko lost his train of thought when he saw InuYasha standing without a single sign of pain.

"Scream? Oh that must have been when, umm, oh never mind," Kagome pitifully explained.

"InuYasha, your completely healed? That miraculous, even for a half demon such as yourself." Kaede walked to InuYasha and studied the places that had once housed his wounds. "How did it happen?"

"I was dressing his wounds and this strange blue light surrounded us, an the next thing I know InuYasha is awake and his wounds are completely healed." Kagome explained.

"That's very strange. Well at any rate, I believe that this belongs to you Kagome." Kaede pulled out a cloth that protected her from the touch of the tainted jewel shard. Kagome reached out and took the large shard from Kaede. Instantly the jewel turned to its natural pale pink color. Kagome untied the necklace that held the last three shards. She held the four of them in her fist and when she opened it the Shikon no Tama had become whole once more.


	3. Returning Home

_**OMG, I know that this took a little more than forever. I'm not the best at finishing my own stories, and whats really sad is that I had this one written out already. I'm going to try to get a chapter every two weeks. Tis my goal, and I must accomplish it. **_

_**Disclaimer:I own none of thes characters, I just love them.**_

**Returning Home**

**Kagome opened her tired eyes, and found herself in the darkness of midnight. She decided to take advantage of the event, and make a trip home without InuYasha being able to stop her. He hadn't wanted her to go to far from him, since the jewel had been completed, and she now protects it. She carefully moved out from under the blanket inch by inch, and quietly felt around the floor for her socks. When her fingers slid across the cloth, she grasped them and cover her feet. She was pushing herself off the ground when a hand wrapped itself around her wrist. A gasp exscaped her lips from the surprise. **

"**Come back to bed," he wispered. It sounded as if he were begging. Kagome willed herself to try to stand again. "Kagome."**

**The way he said her name made her heart skip a beat, and caused her breathing to falter for the briefest second. The thought of crawling back into her warms arms became nearley to strong to control. She couldn't do that though, she had to maintain control. "I can't." the words bearley cam out. She clearedher throat. "I haven't seen my family in two months, and all my clothes are filthy and torn."**

"**Ok, then we will leave in the morning, but lets sleep now."**

"**I have to go now." If she waited they probably wouldn't wake up until it got to late, and she wanted to see Sota for a little while before he left for his exchange program.**

"**Ok, then we will go now." InuYasha said sitting up.**

"**InuYasha you don't have to come. You could use the rest."**

"**I want to go," he said taking her hand. "Besides I can't sleep without you by my side." **

**Kagome's cheek became rosy. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. InuYasha pulled her to him. "Nope," he wispered into her ear. Before Kagome could respond, he put his lips to hers and gave her a passionate little kiss. Her heart skipped again, and InuYasha chuckled as he stood up. He pulled on hi haori and Kagome's backpack. Just as Kagome had finished putting on her shoes, he picked her up. Kagome spent the short trip starring at him, and didn't even realize they were in her room until he put her feet on the ground. **

**She went through the bag and tossed the close into her laundry basket. She rumaged around until she found some clean clothes to sleep in. "I'm going to take a bath, make yourself comfortable."**

**The hot water felt amazing. All the sorness of last weeks fight melted away. A smile played across her face; things have become so amazing now. Naraku was finally dead, for good this time. Kikyo's pour soul has reached its peace which has brought peace to Kaede as well. Sango has someone to love and take care of her for a change. Miroku is now just monogomous monk with no looming death sentence. Last but not least, Kagome's and InuYasha's love has been aknowledged. Kagome closed her eyes and slid under the water to wet her hair.**

'**Knock-knock.'Kagome jumped at the sudden break in silence. **

"**Kagome, can I come in?" InuYasha's voice bearley crossed the room. **

"**Um, sure. I mean yes, you can come in."**

**InuYahsa slipped through the door and sat against the wall. His eyes stared at the floor. "Kagome, aren't you mad at me?"**

"**What, why would I be mad at you? I can't think of anything that you've done to make me mad."**

"**No. I mean, weren't you mad at me before. You know, when I was always chasing Kikyo and pushing you aside."**

"**No I wasn't mad." She stared at her fingers twisting around in the water. "I was sad, and confused, and jealous. I know that you loved eachother."**

"**I loved you too, and I love you now. I was blind to not notice before. I'm sorry I hurt you."**

" **I know. I also know that you didn't mean to hurt me." Kagome noticed that his eyes were still on the floor. "You know, I won't get mad if you look at me."**

**His face became a slight shade of pink, but quickly faded. He stood. "I'm going to go rest my eyes."He left, closing the door after him.**

**Kagome decided that she had been in the tub long enough. She dried and dressed, and went to the miror. Wet hair fell about her shoulders. This isn't the same girl that had been dragged into the Bone Eater's whell by some crazy cintipede demon. This girl had experienced greay pain as well as happiness. There is calmness in the eyes. 3 years ago this child wasn't calm about anything, emotions ruled her life. Now they just have a strong say in what the brain decides. This girl was also stronger, a great deal of running and fighting had managed that. **

**She finished brushing her hair and teeth and then traveled to the bedroom. She carefully opened the door so that she would not disturb InuYasha. She looked around her room but couldn't see him anywhere. She slowly scanned her bed, and saw him. He was almost completely cover up. Diliberate steps were taken so she wouldn't trip over anything. She crawled into the bed. Inuyasha put his arm around her waist and pulled her as close as possible. He burried his nose into her kneck and the two of them fell soundly asleep.**


End file.
